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Guitar Hero 3 Review for PS3 & Xbox 360
It’s not Warped Tour or
Coachella, but this yearly concert tour is still one of the best
shows in town. It’s got roaring crowds, outrageous stages, and even
some special guest appearances. Best of all, they want you to play
lead guitar.
The thrill of gaining admission into the world of Guitar Hero hasn’t
diminished, even though this is the third time we’ve been to the
show. For those unfamiliar with the series, Guitar Hero is a rhythm
and music game played using a colorful plastic guitar. Any strange
looks you get from the uninitiated are quickly dispelled when they
pick up this odd peripheral and “feel” like they’re making the music
themselves, even if they’re only hitting a combination of five fret
keys.
The soundtrack of the Guitar Hero games is what sets this series
apart. Except for perhaps the Tony Hawk series, there hasn’t been as
big a video game music breakthrough as Guitar Hero. The set list of
GH3 is just as strong as the first two, with modern hits like “When
You Were Young” by The Killers and “Miss Murder” by AFI alongside
classics like “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones and “Anarchy in
the UK” by the Sex Pistols.
Each track scales very nicely, allowing younger or inexperienced
players to follow along on easy or medium while hardcore thrashers
can turn it up to 11 with hard or expert mode. The challenge of
Guitar Hero is what keeps people playing it year after year, and
there’s a ton of replay value to be enjoyed in beating over 40
popular songs and two dozen indie bonus songs.
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This year’s set list may be a
bit divisive, as each new Guitar
Hero tends to be. With pricey
downloadable songs on the way,
you’ll want to make these built
in tracks last as long as
possible. Fortunately there’s a
good variety of old and new, but
also some really clever riffs
that are great fun to master.
“Lay Down” by Priestess, for
example, will urge you to master
the hammer-on and pull-off
techniques.
Though the difficulty might have
been toned down slightly, it
doesn’t detract from the fun. It
can even result in higher scores
and combos, as there’s a little
more leeway now when you hit a
note. |
Guitar Hero has sold
millions of copies by creating a specific formula for rock sauce,
but what happens when you throw in a few new ingredients? The battle
mode (which holds up well in multiplayer) and celebrity guest
appearances (Slash just happened to be in the neighborhood?) might
not be for everyone, but in terms of making this game feel like a
star-studded MTV special they are pretty fun. It’s not a
revolutionary step forward for the series, but Guitar Hero only
needs to gradually refine its formula.
In terms of refinement, the greater number of master tracks gives
Guitar Hero 3 a more genuine feel than its predecessors. While it’s
still disconcerting to hear KISS songs by a crappy cover band, the
authentic voices in other songs go a long way towards improving the
series.
There are a few, slight missteps. The lip-synching, while improved
in Guitar Hero 3, leaves the male singer looking like a creepy
wide-mouthed monster. The animated cutscenes between venues look
great, but they’re extremely short and don’t really qualify as a
reward for beating a set of five songs. Otherwise, the background
graphics and general presentation are colorful and extremely
attractive.
The new publisher of Guitar Hero 3 has also apparently taken the
approach of sexing up the characters unnecessarily. Judy Nails is so
tarted-up in this game that she’s practically unrecognizable.
Midori, a perky Japanese schoolgirl, looks very punk but also seems
to be there solely for fanboy service. One level even features
midriff-baring pole dancers, which may give pause to parents who
would otherwise buy Guitar Hero for their kids without hesitation.
Despite these few missed notes (blame it, perhaps, on a bad sound
engineer or unplugged amp) Guitar Hero is still the best show in
town. Competitor Rock Band has a lot to prove, as Guitar Hero has
made the stage dive to next-gen almost perfectly.
by Andrew Podolsky
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